Double murder over shop demolition: 6 including 5 brothers held in Uttarakhand

RUDRAPUR: The Udham Singh Nagar district police cracked a double murder case in Rudrapur within 24 hours, arresting six men, including prime accused Awadhesh Saluja and his four brothers, for the fatal shooting of a father-son duo over a land dispute.
The incident occurred late on Monday in the Galla Mandi area, where a long-standing feud escalated into violence. Police said that the accused, led by Awadhesh Saluja, had attempted to illegally demolish a shop using a JCB machine. When the shop’s owner, Gurmej Singh, and his sons, Manpreet Singh and the complainant, Surendra Singh, tried to stop them, the accused opened fire, killing Gurmej and Manpreet on the spot.
The conflict originated from a commercial property initially owned by Awadhesh Saluja. After defaulting on bank loans, the shop was auctioned and bought by the deceased’s family. Police said Saluja harboured deep resentment over the transfer and had earlier threatened the family to vacate the premises.
A case was registered at the city police station under Sections 103 (murder), 109 (criminal conspiracy), 351 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 191 (unlawful assembly), 191 (assembly leading to serious offence), and 190 (attempts to commit offences punishable under the code) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
SPP Manikant Mishra formed three special police teams. Using manual surveillance, CCTV footage, and intelligence inputs, the teams tracked down and arrested six accused — Awadhesh Saluja, Dinesh Saluja, Hemant Saluja, Charanjeet Saluja, Harish Saluja (all brothers and residents of Model Colony), and Vishal Anand, a resident of Alliance Colony.
A .32 bore pistol used in the murder was recovered from Awadhesh Saluja. Five unidentified accused, allegedly involved in the conspiracy, are still absconding. “A brutal act like this will not be tolerated. We are committed to bringing all culprits to justice,” said SSP Mishra, adding that efforts are ongoing to ascertain the criminal history of the arrested and to nab the remaining accused.